Displaying items by tag: Investigation

Australia: Adelaide Brighton is seeking damages from a former credit manager over US$9m in missing funds. The cement producer has accused former employee Glenda Ivy Burgess of the embezzlement following an internal audit, according to the Advertiser newspaper. Burgess worked for Adelaide Brighton for 18 years but was dismissed in February 2018.

The construction company launched a civil lawsuit against Burgess at the same time that a police investigation was ongoing. This has subsequently led to a clash between civil and criminal proceedings as the accused successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to delay the civil case whilst the criminal investigation continues.

Philippines: Trade Secretary Ramon M Lopez has started an investigation studying whether the government should protect the local cement industry, following a rise in imports. A review by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) found that imports grew by 70% year-on-year in 2014, 4391% in 2015; 549% in 2016 and 72% in 2017, according to the Business Mirror newspaper. However, the market share of imports grew from 0.02% in 2013 to 15% in 2017, leading to claims that increasing imports are damaging local production.

The review contends that the domestic industry's sales revenue increased from 2013 to 2016 but that it declined by 12% in 2017. Industry earnings fell in 2017 following growth. The DTI paper also claims that the cost of cement imports is around 14% lower than local product and that this has led to local producers dropping their prices by 10% to compete.

India: The Madras High Court has pulled up Chettinad Cement Corportation (Chettinad) for encroaching upon public land to construct railway track to its factory at Ariyalur. It has ordered a probe by an IAS officer. Justice SM Subramaniam also ordered a probe into the role of government officials, who may have colluded with the factory management to squat on government land without permission.

"Such industries cannot encroach upon the government land, which is not only a water body, but also used as a pathway by the villagers and the people of that locality,” said Justice Subramaniam.

The court passed the order while dismissing a plea moved by Chettiand against the action of the sub-collector against the encroachment. The court further directed the district administration to evict all such encroachments made by the company on the land and water bodies within two weeks.

Ukraine: The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade has started an anti-dumping investigation on imports of cement from Russia, Belarus and Moldova. It will look at the conduct of Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine, HeidelbergCement Ukraine, Podilsky Cement and Ivano-Frankivskcement, according to the Uryadovy Courier newspaper. The probe will examine the cement market between 2015 and 2017.

El Salvador: The Superintendence of Competition (SC) has started investigating the effects of competition in the production and sales of cement upon the local construction industry. The study is being conducted by GPR Economy, an Argentine company, according to the El Mundo newspaper. It will examine any potential monopoly distortions in the local cement, asphalt and heavy machinery industries. The country has two integrated cement plants that are both operated by Holcim El Salvador.

India: Police have arrested the owner of a factory near Gaurichak in Bihar manufacturing counterfeit cement. Over 5000 bags of cement were seized, according to the Telegraph of India newspaper. Cement bags falsely branded as Birla Gold, Lafarge and other companies were found at the site. Packaging machines were also impounded. Police said the unit was collecting expired bags of cement and reusing them. The investigation will now move on to finding contractors who have been selling the fake products.

Turkey: Göltaş Çimento and AS Çimento are being investigated by the Turkish Competition Authority for alleged price fixing of cement. The government body says that its preliminary investigation in early May 2018 has discovered ‘serious’ findings. Further investiation will follow to examine whether the law has been broken and whether fines are applicable. Both cement producers operate plants in the southwest of the country.

Vietnam: Phuc Son Cement is under investigation for exploiting minerals. An inspection report by the State Audit Office has accused the cement producer of using mineral volumes higher than the amount it was licenced for in 1996, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper and Dantri. The report has been passed to the prime minister and the chairwoman of the National Assembly. The company has also been accused of causing pollution from its mining activities and not cooperating with the authorities over the investigation.

The State Audit Office estimates that Phuc Son Cement could face a US$11.7m fine for illegally exploiting natural resources and causing environmental damage. Phuc Son Cement, a joint venture between Taiwan’s Lucky Cement and a local partner, operates one of the largest plants in the country.

Syria: An investigation by the Agence France Presse has found that one local employee of Lafarge in Syria was killed and another has been missing for five years. According to the news agency, Syrian mechanic Yassin Ismail, who was employed at Lafarge's plant at Jalabiya, was kidnapped by jihadist fighters in 2013. He was subsequently executed, according to relatives and former work colleagues. Another mechanic Abdul al-Homada, was disappeared in Aleppo in 2013 while attempting to collect his salary.

LafargeHolcim is being investigated in France over claims that Lafarge Syria had paid extremist groups to keep its Jalabiya cement plant operational after the outbreak of war in Syria. Six former Lafarge executives have been charged with financing a terrorist organisation. Those managers could also face prosecution for endangering the lives of their local Syrian employees after 11 of them filed their own lawsuit alleging that Lafarge put financial profit before their personal safety.

US: Mexico’s Cemex says that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether the cement producer violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in relation to a new cement plant being built by Cemex Colombia at Maceo in Antioquia. Previously, the cement producer received a subpoena from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in late 2016 as part of a probe also checking whether the FCPA had been breached.

Cemex says it is cooperating with both requests. However, it also said that it does not know how long either investigation will last or what impact the results of either investigation might have upon the company in terms of eventual sanctions.

In late September 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members in relation to the Maceo project and its subsidiary’s chief executive resigned. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20.5m made to a non-governmental third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights, and benefits of the tax free zone for the project.